Carton filling apparatus



July 11, 1957 R. D. HEFFELFINGER ETAL CARTON FILL ING APPARATUS 10Shets-Sheet Original Filed Aug. 10. 1962 M mi-hi! iNvsN'roRs ROBERT D.HEFFELFINGER JOHN, a msenacns WENDELL S. THOMPSON HENRY'A.OLDENKAMP BY1w m ATTORNEY July 11, 1967 R. D. HEFFELFINGER ETAL 3,330,310

CARTON FILLING APPARATUS I Original Filed Aug. 10, 1962 10 Sheets-Sheet2 I mvsmons noszm o. nsrsemuezn JOHN G. HAGERBORG WENDELL S. THOMPSONHENRY A. OLDENKAHP [ATTORNEY July 11, 1967 R. D. HEFFELFINGER ETAL3,330,310

CARTON FILLING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 10. 1962 10 s t s 5 x V I418 INVENTORS ROBERT D. HEFFELFINGER JOHN G. HAGERBORG WENDELL S.THOMPSON HENRY A. OLDENKAMP ATTORNEY CARTON FILLING APPARATUS 7 OriginalFiled Aug. 10

1.0 Sheets-Sheet B w mm 7 8 9 7 4 EM h wmflwmo 4 5 L w 555333 533 02 I H55 .u 12 55 u 32 V R v v 2 G a J\ I m 4 3 v a w a 22w 2% 2 3 3 5 4| D. 3T 7 2m w: in 83 63 2g 22 3 24 MwmH1fl 1 2& 1 $2 a 5 R. o. HEFFELF'INGERETAL 3,330,310

July 11, 1967 CARTON FILLING APPARATUS l0 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original FiledAug. 10 1962 INVENTORS ROBERT D. HEFFELFINGER JOHN G. HAGERBORG WENDELLS. THOMPSON HENRY A. OLDENKAMP ATTORNEY- July 11, 1967 R. D.HEFFELFINGER ETAL 3,339,310

CARTON FILL-I NG APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 10, 1962 1,0 Sheets-SheetF'IE '7 i j? i *F'II3 El E ,24 24s 23s 8 o o 8 2'54 2a9 238 238 223 23fir-23a 6 25?,

w-ZZB 252 1 V I 4'21 411 52% 4 8 24s 4-2-51 244 E 3 53 238 V y BY MumATTORNEY Julyll, 1967 R. D. HEFFELFINGER ETAL 3,330,310

CARTON FILLING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 10, 1962 10 Sheets-Sheet 7INVENTORS ROBERT D. HEFFELFINGER JOHN G.HAGERBORG WENDELL S. THOMPSONHENRY A. OLDENKAMP ATTORNEY July 11, 1967 R. b. HEFFEL FINGER ETAL3,330,310

CARTON FILLING APPARATUS I Original Filed Aug. 10, 1962 1Q Sheets-Sheet:1.-

I INVENTORS ROBERT D. HEFFELFINGER JOHN G. HAGERBORG WENDELL S. THOMPSONHENRY A. OLDENKAMP July 11, 1967 R. D. HEFFELFINGER ETAL CARTON FILLINGAPPARATUS LO Sheets-Sheet 1 3 Original Filed Aug. 10 1962 5 2 G 3 IF- Ds N I 0 7 C 2 7 E I 6 D I E E m 1. T X E 3 E A a NI Y R C U| E RI M S E5 M o n X E D m 5 w P L m u l R T E M L S I F w o 9 3 a 9 8 3 8 .7 0V 1*x Q m 5 i w 8 3 T, M H w INVENTORS ROBERT D. HEFFELFINGER JOHN G.HAGERBORG WENDELL s. THOMPSON HENRY A. OLDENKAMP BY f6 ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,330,310 CARTON FILLING APPARATUS Robert D. Hetfelfinger,Saratoga, Calih, John G. Hagerborg, St. Nililaas-Waas, Belgium, andWendell S. Thompson and Henry A. Oldenkarnp, Saratoga, Calih, assignorsto FMC Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Originalapplication Aug. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 216,248, now Patent No. 3,248,841,dated May 3, 1966. Divided and this application Feb. 11, 1966, Ser. No.526,726

Claims. (Cl. 141140) This application is a division of copendingapplication Serial No. 216,248, which application was filed on August10, 1962 and issued on May 3, 1966 as Patent No. 3,248,841.

The present invention pertains to packaging equipment and moreparticularly relates to an apparatus for filling containers with aproduct such as milk or the like.

One object of the present invention is to provide a filling valve forfilling an accurately measured quantity of milk into each carton.

Another object is to provide an improved filling valve having a fillingtube which is insertable into a carton and is arranged to discharge milkinto a carton below the level of the milk therein during a major portionof the filling operation.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a carton forming and filling machine ofwhich the carton filling apparatus of the present invention is a part,the view being taken looking at the elongated left side and therelatively narrow rear end of the machine.

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic elevation of the right side of the cartonforming and filling machine, certain protective housings being removed.

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic plan of the machine on FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic front elevation of the machine of FIGURE 2,taken looking in the direction of arrows 44 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE .5 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 55 of FIGURE2 showing the carton filling appa- Iatus.

FIGURE 6 is an elevation of the right side of the carton fillingapparatus of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a vertical central section taken along lines 7-7 of FIGURE 6viewing the support column of the filling apparatus.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged horizontal section taken along lines 8-8 ofFIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is an exploded perspective of the mechanism for guiding thefilling valve for vertical movement.

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged elevation looking in the direction of arrows10-10 of FIGURE 5 showing a portion of the actuating mechanism of themilk measuring mechanism.

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 1111 ofFIGURE 5.

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged vertical section taken along lines 12-12 ofFIGURE 6.

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged side elevation looking in the direction oflines 13-13 of FIGURE 6 and showing the mechanism for operating the footvalve of the carton filling apparatus.

FIGURE 14 is a horizontal section taken along lines 1414 of FIGURE 13.

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged plan of a no-carton no-fill device looking inthe direction of the arrows 15-15 in FIGURES 5 and 16.

ice

FIGURE 16 is a section taken along lines 1616 of FIGURE 15.

FIGURE 17 is a diagrammatic elevation illustrating that portion of thehydraulic system associated with the carton filling mechanism.

FIGURE 18 is a central section through one of several four way hydraulicvalves used in the hydraulic system.

FIGURE 19 is a central section through one of the speed control valvesin the hydraulic system.

FIGURE 20 is a chart illustrating the timing of the hydraulic power unitof that portion of the hydraulic system used in the carton fillingmechanism.

General description The carton filling apparatus 48 of the presentinvention forms a part of a carton forming and filling machine 50 (FIGS.1 to 4) which will be shown and described as a machine for packagingmilk in half gallon cartons C, it will be understood however, that it iswithin the scope of the present invention to fill other liquids intoeither half gallon or other size cartons. Because of the numerousoperations performed on the cartons a they pass through the machine, thedifferent sections of the machine at which successive operations on thecarton are carried out will be identified as consecutively numberedstations St. 1 through St. 18.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the illustrated embodiment of the machine hastwo processing lines L1 and L2, each of which processes cartons at therate of twenty cartons per minute. In the description to follow, whenparts associated with the lines L1 and L2 are identical, only thoseparts associated with one of the lines will be described in detail. Itis to be understood that it is within the scope of the invention toprovide as many lines as needed to achieve the desired rate ofdischarge.

The carton forming and filling machine 50 has two main sections: acarton erecting section which is disposed at the front or left hand endof the machine (FIGS. 2 and 3) and includes stations St. 1-St. 8, and acarton filling and closing section which includes stations St. 9-St. 18.In general, between stations St. 1 and St. 8 a carton is erected andplaced on a turret 51 and its bottom is closed and sealed. In the cartonfilling and closing section, a conveyor assembly 52 is mounted on aframe 53 and includes two endless chain, carton supporting conveyors 52aand 52b (FIG. 3) which advance the cartons along the lines L1 and L2,respectively. A magazine 54 at Station 1 is mounted on the frame 53 andis arranged to receive a stack of tubular carton blanks 56 (FIG. 5) inflat folded form. In the magazine, the blanks are held in uprightposition extending transversely of the magazine with the end of theblank, which forms the top of the carton when it is erected, disposedlowermost in the magazine. The magazine 54 includes means for urging thecarton blanks 56 rearwardly in the machine toward a carton erecting andturret loading apparatus 57 (FIG. 2) at Station 2. This erecting andloading apparatus 57 removes one carton blank at a time from themagazine, for each line, squares each carton blank into an open endedrectangular tube, and moves each of the squared tubular carton blanksdownwardly at Station 3 over one of six carton forming mandrels 58 inthe associated processing line which are carried by and are evenlyspaced around the turret 51.

The turret 51 and conveyors 52a and 52b are intermittently driven by adrive mechanism 59 which is timed so as to require approximatelysix-tenths of a second for each increment of movement and to allow eachcarton to remain at each station for approximately two and fourtenthsseconds. As shown in FIG. 2, intermittent indexing of the turret 51advances the cartons along an arcuate counterclockwise path from Station3 to Station 8 during which time operations are performed on the bottomof the cartons, an intermittent movement of the conveyor 52a and 52badvances the cartons along a linear path from Station 9 to Station 18during which time operations are performed on or are associated with thetops of the cartons. It will be understood that the drive mechanism 59drives the turret 51 so that each indexing motion of drive 59 advanceseach mandrel 58 from one station to the next, however, each indexingmotion only advances the conveyors 52a and 52b in half-stationincrements and therefore cartons on conveyors 52a and 52b will come torest between stations.

When a carton is positioned at Station 4, a bottom forming apparatus 62is actuated to force a bottom forming die 63 against the lower end flapsof the carton thereby causing the end flaps to bend at their score linesas shown in FIG. 8A. At Station 5, a bottom heating apparatus 64 (FIG.2) is placed into operation and directs hot air at only those surfacesof the bottom flaps which will subsequently be sealed together by a bottoin sealing apparatus 66 (FIG. 4) at Station 6. The carton with itsbottom flaps sealed together at Station 6 is then moved past Station 7(FIG. 2) which is a vacant station, and into Station 8 at which timehigh pressure air is directed against the interior face of the bottomwall of the carton through the associated mandrel 58 to eject the cartonfrom the mandrel.

The ejected carton C is guided by a carton transfer and turningmechanism 68 which moves the carton from the inverted to an uprightposition while at the same time turning the carton 90 about itslongitudinal axis. The so-turned carton is received at Station 9 betweentwo adjacent drive lugs 69 of the associated conveyors 52a and 52b.

While at Station 10, a top forming apparatus 71 moves a top forming head72 downwardly against the upper flaps of the carton to bend these flapsalong the score lines 'so that the upper end of the carton assumes theposition shown in FIG. 9A. The carton is then indexed to Station 11where a sterilizing apparatus 73 moves an ultraviolet light 74 into thecarton to thoroughly sterilize the interior of the carton. After thecarton has been sterilized, it is moved to Station 12.5 where the cartonfilling apparatus 48 of the present invention fills the carton withmilk. The filled carton is then moved to Station 14 under a top sizingapparatus 77 which operates to bend additional portions of the topclosure into the proper position for heating.

The carton is then moved by the associated conveyor 52a or 52b intoStation 14.5 where a top heating apparatus 78 lowers a heating head 79over the top flaps of the cartomwhich head 79 is formed so as to directhot air only at those surfaces of the top fiaps which are to be pressedtogether to seal the top of the carton. After the top' flap surfaceshave been properly heated, the associated conveyor indexes the carton toStation where a top sealing apparatus 82 forces the heated surfaces ofthe flaps together to seal the top of the carton.

The conveyor then advances the filled carton to Station 16, which is avacant station where sample cartons may be removed from the conveyor fortesting if desired. When the carton is moved to Station '17, a topstamping apparatus 83 impresses suitable identifying idicia thereon. Thefilled, sealed, and marked carton is finally advanced to station 18where it is moved laterally oil the conveyor by a discharge apparatus 84onto one of two high speed discharge conveyors 86 which are parallel toconveyors 52a 'and 52b and discharges the carton from the carton formingand filling machine 50 of the present invention.

Turret and conveyordrive mechanism As mentioned previously, the turret51 and conveyors 52a and 52b are driven intermittently, each movement ofthe turret moving a carton from one station to the next, while eachindexing movement of the conveyors advances cartons thereon onlyone-half the normal distance between the stations along the conveyors.The length r of each indexing movement of the conveyors will be referredto hereinafter as a half-station increment. The drive mechanism 59(FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) is so timed that approximately six tenths of a secondis required for each intermittent movement, and the cartons remain ineach station or between stations along conveyors 52a and 52b, forapproximately two and one half seconds.

The drive mechanism 59 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) comprises a drive motor DMwhich is connected to a gear reducer 192 by a belt drive 193. The motorDM is mounted on a plate 194 (FIG. 4) which is pivoted at its rearwardend on a pair of stub shafts 195 projecting from a fixed bracket 200,and has its forward end supported for vertical adjustment by a bolt 196which is pivoted to the motor plate 194 and extends through a horizontalplate portion of the bracket and is locked in adjustable position bynuts 198. One output shaft (not shown) of the gear reducer 192 iscoupled to a Ferguson drive 199 which drives its output shaft 201intermittently.

The output shaft 201 is coupled to the turret shaft 210a by a coupling202. The coupling 202 comprises identical axially aligned sprockets 203and 204 which are keyed to the shafts 210a and 201, respectively, andhave a double chain 206 trained therearound. A connector 207 is used toclamp the ends of the chain 206 together, with the chain fitted firmlyaround the sprockets 203 and 204.

The conveyors 52a and 52b are accurately timed with the turret and arepartially driven directly from the turret 51 by a gear 210 which iskeyed to the turret shaft 210a.

The gear 210 meshes with a first idler gear 208 which, in turn, mesheswith a second idler gear 209. The idler gears 208 and 209 are journalledon stub shafts 211' and 212, respectively, which are secured to theframe 53 of the machine. The second idler gear 209 meshes with aconveyor drive gear 213 which is keyed to a conveyor drive shaft 214.The shaft 214 (FIG. 2) is journalled on the frame 53. Thus, theconveyors 52a and 52b are intermittently driven to the right (FIGS. 2and 3) in timed relation with the movement of the turret 51.

Carton filling apparatus After the cartons in lines L1 and L2 have beensterilized at Station 11, they are indexed by three intermittentmovements of the conveyors 52a and 52b into Station 12.5 under thefilling apparatus 48 (FIGS. 5 to 14) of the present invention. Thefilling apparatus includes a vertically movable filling head 221 (FIGS.5 and 6) servicing each line L1 and L2, each head featuring a fillingtube 222 which is projected down into the carton being filled to Withinapproximately one-half inch from the bottom of the carton before a footvalve 223 is opened to release the milk from the tube. After the initialportion of milk enters the carton, the filling head israised allowingthe remaining portion of the milk to enter the carton while the lowerend of the tube 222 is below the surface of the milk. This bottomfilling feature permits rapid,

filling of the carton without foaming.

Each filling head 221 is secured to a cross head 224 (FIGS. 5 and 7)which is connected to the piston rod 226 (FIG. 7) of a hydraulic powerunit 227 by a yoke 228. The cylinder 229 ofthe power unit 227 isconnected to a base plate 231 which is bolted to the frame 53 of themachine. The cross head 224 includes a slide block 232 (FIG. 9) that isslidably received within a tubular pillar 233 (FIG. 8) of'rectangularcross section. The side walls 234 and end walls 236 of pillar 233 arebolted together and to a head plate 237 (FIG. 7) and to the base plate231 to provide a rigid guide. for the cross head 224. I

In order to assure accurate sliding movement and transverse positioningof the cross head 224, the slide block 232 is provided with four angledcorner slides 238 (FIGS. 8 and 9) of a self-lubricating bearingmaterial. Each angle slide 238 is connected to the body 239 of the slideblock 232 by cap screws 241 which extend through horizontal slots 242 inthe angle slide 238 and permit horizontal adjustment thereof. Accuratehorizontal positioning of cooperating pairs of the angle slides 238 isachieved by wedges 243 which contact angled edges 244 of the slides 238and are connected to the body 239 of the slide block 232 by cap screws246 which extend through vertical slots 247 in the Wedges and arescrewed into the body 239. The wedges are locked from vertical movementby set screws 248 that abut the wedges and are screwed in tabs 249welded to the body 239. The set screws 248 are locked in fixed positionby jam nuts 251.

The cross head 224 includes a tubular member 252 that is welded to thebody 239 and projects outwardly from the pillar 233 through slots 253 inthe side walls 234 thereof. Mounting blocks 254 (FIG. 5) are welded toeach end of the member 252 and each block 254 has one of the fillingheads 221 bolted thereto.

The two filling heads 221 and the structure for operating each head areidentical, therefore, the description of the head associated with lineL1 Will sufiice for both.

The filling head 221 (FIGS. 5 and 6) associated with line L1 receivesmilk at a relatively low pressure from a conduit 257 connected between asurge tank or the like (not shown) and a valve housing 258. The milkenters a central inlet passage 259 (FIGS. 11 and 12), the outlet ofwhich communicates alternately with one of two upwardly inclinedpassages 261 and 262 in response to periodic rotation of a directionalcontrol valve 263 having a fluid deflecting web 263a therein which isintegral with two circular end walls 263]; that are mounted for rotationin the housing 258. When the web 263a of the valve 263 is positioned toestablish communication between the inlet passage 259 and either one ofthe inclined passages 261 or 262, the valve also establishescommunication between the other inclined passage and a discharge port264. The discharge port 264 (FIG. 12) communicates with the filling tube222 which is bolted to the lower end of the housing 258 and which isnormally closed by the foot valve 223 so that all the passages will atall times be filled with milk and accordingly be free of air.

In order to accurately determine the volume of milk to be filled intothe cartons, a measuring cylinder 266 (FIGS. 11 and 12) is formed in thehousing 258 and has a free floating piston 267 therein. The upper endsof the inclined passages 261 and 262 communicate with opposite ends ofthe measuring cylinder 266.

The piston 267 includes a central dividing wall 268 having cylindricalskirts 269 projecting outwardly from each side thereof. A plurality ofdischarge holes 271 are formed in each skirt 269 so as to permit rapidtransfer of milk between the cylinder 266 and the inclined passages 261and 262 when the piston is at either end of its stroke. One end of thecylinder 266 is closed by an end cap 272 which is sealed to the wall ofthe cylinder 266 by an O-ring 273. A central stem 274 of the end cap 272acts as an abutment to limit the amount of movement of the piston 267 tothe left (FIG. 11). An angle tab 276 formed on end cap 272 projects overthe cylinder wall and has a threaded aperture to receive a threaded stud277 having a resilient plug 278 secured to one end and a wing nut 279secured to the other end. The resilient plug 278 is normally seated inan air vent 280 in the wall of the cylinder 266 to close the vent.During initial filling of the cylinder with milk, this vent may beopened to bleed air from the left end (FIG. 11) of the cylinder.

The other end of the cylinder 266 is closed by a centrally apertured endcap 281 which is threaded to receive a stroke adjusting abutment screw282. The screw 282 is sealed to the end cap 281 by an O-ring 283, and

the end cap 281 is sealed to the wall of the cylinder 266 by an O-ring284. A vent 286 in the right end of the cylinder is closed by aresilient plug 287 that is secured to a threaded stud 288 screwed into atab 289 of the end cap 281. A wing nut 291 secured to the stud 288provides means for easily opening and closing the vent 286. The strokeof the piston 267 may be easily varied and, accordingly, the volumetriccapacity of the measuring cylinder may be changed by screwing the strokeadjustment screw 282 in or out and by locking the screw in adjustedposition by a wing nut 292. The end caps 272 and 281 are locked inposition by rods 293 (FIGS. 5 and 6) having reduced portions which arefitted in slots 294 in the cap 272, and threaded end portions which arefitted in slots 296 in the end caps 281. Wing nuts 297 screwed on thethreaded end portion hold the end caps 272 and 281 firmly against thecylinder 266.

The directional control valve 263 (FIG. 12) is held from lateralmovement in the housing 258 by one of the mounting blocks 254 and by aplate 301 which is bolted to the housing 258. One end of mm conduit 257is welded to the upper end of the plate in register with a hole 302which communicates with the aforementioned inlet passage 259. The lowerend of the plate 301 is apertured and fitted around a large diameterportion of the stem 303 of the valve 263. A spacer ring 304 is fittedaround an intermediate diameter portion of the stem 303 and bearsagainst a ratchet 306 (FIGS. 10 and 12) which is keyed to a smalldiameter portion of the stem 303. A pawl-carrying valve actuating arm307 is welded to a sleeve 308 which is journalled on the small diameterportion of the stem 303. Suitable bearing rings 309 are provided tofacilitate relative rotation between the valve 263 and the plate 301,and to facilitate relative rotation of the arm 307 between the ratchet306 and an end plate 311 that is secured to the stem 303 by a wing bolt312. The arm 307 is urged in a clockwise direction (FIG. 10) by atorsion spring 313 which is connected between the arm 307 and a capscrew 314 secured to the plate 301. The extent of pivotal movement ofthe arm 307 is limited by a pin 316 secured to the plate 301.

A stub shaft 317 is welded to the actuating arm 307 and pivotallycarries a pawl 318 which is resiliently urged against the ratchet 306 bya torsion spring 319 connected between the arm 307 and the pawl 318.

The foot valve 223 (FIG. 12) includes a disc 322 having an O-ring 323 onits periphery which seals against the beveled lower end 324 of thefilling tube 222. The foot valve 223 includes diametrically extendingpins 326 which hold the foot valve centrally in tube 222 as the valvemoves between the open and closed position.

The foot valve 223 is pivotally connected to an actuating mechanism 327by a link 328. The actuating mechanism 327 (FIGS. 13 and 14) is of theovercenter-lock type and includes a shaft 329 journalled in a supporthousing 331 which is bolted to and may be considered nart of the fillingtube 222. A lever 332, to which the link 328 is connected, is rigidlysecured to one end of the shaft 329 (FIG. 14). An actuating arm 333 isclamped at an intermediate point to the other end of the shaft and has acam follower 334 journalled on one end. The other end of the actuatingarm 333 is slotted to define a fork 336 (FIG. 13) which receives a pin337 projecting outwardly.

from an overcenter locking arm 338. The arm 338 is pivoted intermediateits ends on a shouldered bolt 339 which is screwed into the housing 331.A spring 341 is connected between the slotted end of a cap screw 342that is secured to the other end of the locking arm 338, and the slottedend of a cap screw 344 secured to the actuating arm 333 at a pointbetween the shaft 329 and the cam follower 334.

It will be apparent that the spring 341 will lock the actuating lever333 and foot valve in the closed position as indicated in solid lines inFIGURES 12 and 13 when the lines of action of the spring 344 lies belowthe 7 axis of the shaft 329. Conversely, the spring 344 will lock theactuating lever 333 and the foot valve in the open position as indicatedin dotted lines in FIGURES 12 and 13 when the line of action of thespring 344 lies above the axis of the shaft 329. 7

During normal operation of the carton filling apparatus 48 (FIGS. and 6)the control valve 263 is rotated 90 during each downward movement of thefilling tube 222 into a cart-on and completes such rotation slightlybefore the tube reaches the bottom of its stroke. The control valve 263is rotated upon engagement 'of the actuating arm 307 with a cam follower348 (FIG. 5) that is journalled on the upper end of an arm 349. The arm349 is pivotally mounted on a shouldered bolt 350 that is screwed into abracket 3-51 secured to the tubular pillar 233. A stop 352 that isbolted to the bracket 351 is secured to the pillar 233 and engages thelower end of the arm 349 to limit the amount of counterclockwisemovement of the arm 349. A leaf spring 354 is mounted on the bracket 353and normally urges the arm 349 against the stop 352.

In the event a carton is not indexed into filling position at Station12.5 a no-carton no-fill device 356 (only the device associated withline L2 being shown in FIG. 5) will sense the absence of the carton andwill send a signal to a solenoid 357 to energize the same. Energizationof the solenoid 357, which solenoid is connected to the arm 349 and ismounted on the bracket 351, pivots the arm 349 clockwise (FIG. 6)thereby moving the cam follower 348 out of the path of movement of theactuating arm 307. Accordingly, when a carton is not present at thefilling Station 12.5, the associated valve 263 will not be rotated uponvertical reciprocal movement of the filling head 221.

Since the structure for operating the foot valve 223 associated withline L2 is better illustrated in FIG. 5 than the identical structure forOperating the foot valve of line L1, the line L2 structure will bereferred to in describing the operation of the foot valves 223. Duringnormal. operation, immediately before the filling tube 222 reaches thebottom of its stroke, the cam follower 334 engages a cam arm 359 whichmoves the actuating mechanism 327 to the position shown in dotted linesin FIGURE 13 thereby opening the foot valve 223 (FIG. 5) allowing milkto enter and fill the carton as the tube is being raised. Immediatelybefore the tube reaches the top of its stroke, the cam follower 334contacts a cam 361 that is integrally formed on one end of a bracket 362bolted to the pillar 233. Contact of the cam follower 334 with the cam361 actuates the mechanism 327 to close the foot valve 223.

The cam 361 is spaced from the pillar and from a spacer block 363 of thebracket to permit the actuating arm 333 and cam follower 334 to movefreely past the cam during the next downward stroke of the filling head221.

In the event a carton is not indexed at Station 12.5

a under the associated filling head 221, the foot valve 223 will not beopened as above described. As indicated in FIGURE 5, the cam arm 359 ispivotally mounted on a,

shouldered cap screw 364 that is connected to the pillar 233. The camarm 359 is pivotally connected to a sole:

noid 366 by a link 367. The solenoid is mounted on a bracket 368 boltedto the pillar 233. The cam arm 3-59 is normally held in the solid lineposition of FIGURE 5 The no-carton no-fill carton sensing devices 356,one

being provided for each line L1 and L2, are substantially the same.

The device 356 (FIGS. 15 and 16) comprises a boxlike housing 372 whichis bolted to the frame 53 and which has a single pole limit switch 373connected thereto. A U-shaped arm 374, having a carton engaging finger376 connected thereto, is pivoted on a shaft 377 that is bolted to thehousing 372. An L-shaped bracket 378 (FIG. 15) is rigidly connected tothe housing and has a stop bolt 379 locked therein, which bolt engagesan extension 381 of the arm 374 to limit the movement of the finger 376toward the conveyor 52a. The finger 376 is urged toward the conveyor 52aby the actuating element 382 of the switch 373 which is spring loadedand engages the U-shaped arm 374. Since the cartons travel substantiallyend-to-end along conveyors 52a and 5212, the switch 373 will always beclosed due to the cartons contacting lever 376. If a carton is missing,the lever swings inwardly, closing the switch 373 and energizes theassociated solenoids 357 and 366.

Certain components in the hydraulic system to be described in detailhereinafter control the speed of the filling heads 221 so that they movedown quite rapidly and move through their upward strokes at a slowerrate. The timing of the filling heads 221 relative to the conveyors 52aand 52b is such that the filling tubes 222 complete the upward strokeshortly after the cartons are filled and the foot valves 223 are closedand, immediately thereafter, the conveyor moves other cartons intoStation 12.5. This timing allows maximum time for filling, and permitssufficient time to carry the drop of milk which gradually forms on theend of each foot valve 223 into the next carton.

Amanually operated hydraulic valve 383 (FIG. 2) is 7 also provided inthe hydraulic system adjacent Station 12.5 to enable the operator tooperate the filling heads 221 when the machine is not running. Thismanual operation of the filling heads 221 permits the operator to purgeair from the heads when the heads are being initially filled with milk.An electrical safety switch 384 (FIG. 17) associated with the manualvalve 383 prevents automatic operation of the machine unless the manualvalve 383 is returned to its normal position.

In the operation of the carton filling apparatus 48 (FIGS. 5 and 6),immediately after cartons on the conveyors 52a and 5211 have beenindexed into Station 12.5 under the filling heads 221, the filling heads221 are rapidly lowered. The valve 263 in each head is rotated uponcontact with the cam follower 348 to move the valve web 263a (FIG. 11)to the dotted line position. Immediately thereafter the roller 334 ofthe actuating mechanism 327 (FIG. 5) contacts the cam arm 359 and opensthe foot valve 223 to release milk into the carton which raises to alevel above the bottom of the filling tube 222. The carton is completelyfilled with milk as the filling head 221 moves upward and during thistime the lower end of the filling tube 222 is always positioned belowthe level of the milk in the carton being filled. With the web 263a ofthe valve 263 being in the dotted line position shown in FIGURE 11during this filling cycle, a portion of the accurately measured quantityof milk in the cylinder 266 on the left side of the dividing wall 268 ofthe piston 267 flows through'the passage 261, past the valve263,'through the port 264, and through the filling tube into the carton;During this time, a fresh supply of milk enters the right end of thecylinder 266 through the conduit 257 (FIG. 12), the inlet passage 259,the valve 263 (FIG. 11), and through the passage 262 into the cylinder,thereby moving the piston 267 against the stem of the end cap 272assuring that the right end of the cylinder contains an accuratelymeasured quantity of milk. Upon rotation of the valve 263 through If anempty conveyor pocket is indexed at the filling Station 12.5, theassociated no-carton no-fill device 356 will assure that no milk isdischarged from the filling head 221 associated with that conveyor.

Hydraulic system The power unit 227 is incorporated in a hydraulicsystem 385 (FIG. 17). The actuation of the unit 227 is timed relative tothe intermittent movement of the conveyors 52a and 52b (FIGS. 2 and 3)by a timing cam TC8 which operates a four-way hydraulic valve V8. Therate of movement of the piston rod 226 of the power cylinder 229 iscontrolled during extension and retraction by two speed control valvesCV, one valve being placed in each conduit connected to the associatedends of the power cylinder 229 to permit free entry of the hydraulicfluid into the cylinder to restrict to a predetermined rate thedischarge of fluid therefrom.

As diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 17, the hydraulic system 375comprises a hydraulic pump 386 which is continuously driven \by a motorHM. The pump 386 receives fluid from a sump 387 and discharges highpressure fluid through a manifold 388. The low pressure fluid isreturned to a sump 387 from the power cylinder through a manifold 389.The valve V8 is connected to the high pressure manifold 388 and to thelow pressure manifold 339 by a high pressure conduit 390 and a returnconduit 390a, respectively. A plurality of oil heaters OH are providedin the sump 387 and are controlled 50 as to maintain the temperature ofthe hydraulic fluid between 105 F. to 140 F.

As diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 18, the valve V8 includes ahousing 391 having a shift-able core 392 therein. A spring 393 disposedbetween the core and housing normally urges a cam follower 394journalled on one end of the core against the timing cam T C8. Theassociated high pressure conduit 390 and return conduit 390a, areconnected to ports 396 and 397, respectively, in the housing 391. Theport 396 communicates either with a straight line passage 398 extendingcentrally through the core 392, or with a slanted or cross-passage 401which extends along the periphery of the cylindrical core. Similarly,the port 397 communicates either with a straight passage 399 or with aslanted passage 402, that is formed in the periphery of core 392 on theopposite side of the core passage 401. With this arrangement, thehydraulic fluid can be selectively directed through discharge ports 403or 404 in the housing 391. It will be understood that each passage 398,399, 401 and 402 are independent passages and do not communicate witheach other.

The two speed control valves CV (FIG. 17) are identical in constructionand accordingly the description of one will suifice for both. Each speedcontrol valve CV (FIG. 19) comprises a housing 407 having a straightline passage 408 therethrough. An enlarged portion 409 of the passage408 has a ball check valve 411 therein which rests againsta seat 412 toprevent flow of fluid downwardly (FIG. 19) through the passage 408 butprevents unrestricted flow upwardly (FIG. 19) through the passage 408. AU-shaped control passage 413 in the housing 407 bypasses the ball valve411 and communicates with opposite ends of the straight line passage408. An adjustable needle valve 414 cooperates with the frusto-conicalseat 416 in the control passage to restrict the downward (FIG. 19) flowof fluid therethrough to thereby control the rate of travel of thepiston 226 of the hydraulic power cylinder 229. It will be understoodthat the needle valve 414 of each speed control valve CV will beadjusted so as to achieve the desired rate of travel of the piston rod226 of the power cylinder. It will also be understood that the speedcontrol valves CV are all positioned so that the upper port 417, ratherthan the lower port, is connected to the power cylinder 229.

In order to accurately time the operation of the filling apparatus 48with the turret 51 and conveyors 52a and 5212, the timing cam TC8 iskeyed to a cam shaft 418 (FIGS. 1 to 4) which extends the full length ofthe machine. A second output shaft 419 (FIG. 4) of the previouslydescribed gear reducer 192 has a sprocket 420 keyed thereon which isconnected to a driven sprocket 421 (FIG. 2) by a chain 422. The drivensprocket 421 is keyed on an idler shaft 423 which is journalled in abracket 424 bolted to the frame 53. A large diameter cam shaft drivesprocket 425 is keyed on the idler shaft 423. A chain 427 (FIG. 4) istrained around the large diameter sprocket 425, around a sprocket 428keyed to the cam shaft 418, and around an idler sprocket 430 that isjournalled on a shaft 431 secured to the frame 53. The cam shaft 418extends the full length of the machine 50 (FIG. 2) and is journalled inspaced brackets 432 secured to the frame 53- The timing cam TC8, as Wellas a plurality of similar timing cams, are secured at spaced intervalsalong the cam shaft 418. The cam TC8 controls the actuation of thehydraulic power unit 227 of the filling apparatus 48.

The control of the hydraulic power cylinder 229 at Station 12.5 will nowbe described in detail having reference to FIGURES 17 and 20.

In regard to the chart shown in FIGURE 20, it will be understood thatthe darkened areas indicate the time required for the piston rod 226 ofthe associated piston to move from the extended to the retractedpositions or from the retracted to the extended positions and thatpressure will be applied to the same side of the piston in a dwellperiod after movement is completed until the associated cam TC8 shiftsthe valve V8 to its other position. The lines marked S.V. correspond tothe sloping portions of the associated cam TC8 which shifts the valve V8between the cross-passage position and the straight passage position.The time required for the valve V8 to shift from one position to theother will not be included in the description to follow but, as shown inFIGURE 20, each shifting of the valve requires approximately 0.1 second.In the description to follow, it will be understood that the termcross-passage position indicates the position at which the passages 401and 402 register with the conduits 388 and 389, and the term straightpassage position indicates the position at which the passages 398 and399 register with the conduits 388 and 389.

As indicated at the top of FIGURE 20, the conveyor and turret indexingoperation takes place in the first 0.6 second of the three secondoperating cycle, and the remaining time is utilized for performing thefilling operation while a carton is indexed at Station 12.5 in positionto be filled.

As previously mentioned, at Station 12.5 the piston rod 226 is movedfrom its extended position downwardly into cylinder 227 to move fillingtubes 222 into the cartons and is then projected upwardly out of thecylinder. The cylinder 227 which operates the carton filling apparatus48 of the present invention at Station 12.5 is connected to the valve V8by conduits 438 and 439 having speed control valves CV therein. Themanually operated four-way valve 383 is also positioned in the conduits438 and 439 between the valve V8 and the speed control valves CV. Themanual valve 383 is normally in the straight-passage position asindicated in FIGURE 17. The piston rod 226 of the cylinder 227 is heldin the extended position for approximately 0.6 second after the start ofa cycle by the cam TC8 which holds the valve V8 in the crosspassageposition. The cam TC8 then shifts the valve V8 to the straight-passageposition and the speed control valve CV in the conduit 438 controls theflow rate so that the piston rod 226 is moved to its retracted positionin approximately 0.43 second. The cam TC8 then returns the valve V8 toits cross-passage position and the rate of movement of the piston 226 iscontrolled by the speed control valve CV in the conduit 439 so as torequire approximately 1.77 seconds for the piston to reach its fullyextended position. The valve V8 remains in this position to the end ofthe cycle.

As mentioned previously, provision is made to operate the carton fillingapparatus 48 manually so as to bleed all air. from the filling apparatusprior to placing the apparatus into automatic operation. Accordingly,the manual valve 383 is provided and is the same as the valve V8 exceptthat the manual valve 383 is operated by a lever 441 rather than by acam. When the machine is not operating, the valve V8 is in thecross-passage position shown in FIGURE 17. Accordingly, to manuallyoperate the cylinder 227, the core of the manual valve is merely shiftedbetween its parallel-passage position and cross-passage position by thelever 441. The limit switch 384 is positioned to be opened by anextension 443 of the valve core when the core of the valve 383 is in thecross-passage position. As will be described later, the opening of theswitch 384 prevents automatic operation of the machine. Therefore, thecore of the manual valve 383 must be returned to the straight lineposition before the machine can be operated automatically.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the improved fillingapparatus of the present invention accurately measures a quantity ofmilk and fills the cartons from the bottom thereby preventing foaming.Additionally, the filling valve is actuated in such a way that the milk,which gradually forms on the bottom of a filling tube after one cartonhas been filled and moved out of the filling station, does not drip fromthe tube until another empty carton is positioned therebelow.

While one embodiment of the present invention has been shown anddescribed, it will be understood that various changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the appended claims.

The present invention and manner in which the same is to be used havingthus been described, what is claimed as new and desired to be protectedby Letters Patent is:

1. A carton filling apparatus for filling a carton with liquidcomprising means for supporting in upright position a carton having anopen upper end, means for measuring a predetermined quantity of liquid,a filling tube connected to said measuring means and disposed above andin axial alignment with the carton to be filled, a control valvedisposed between said measuring means and said filling tube, a footvalve for closing the lower end of said filling tube, means for rapidlylowering the filling tube into the carton and thereafter for slowlyraising said tube out of the carton, means responsive to the downwardmovement of the filling tube for shifting said control valve, meansoperatively connected to said foot valve for opening said foot valveafter said control valve has been shifted and. prior to the terminationof downward move ment of said filling tube to permit the measuredquantity of liquid to flow into the carton as the filling tube is movedupwardly, and means operatively connected to said foot valve andresponsive to the upward movement of the filling tube for closing saidfoot valve prior to the termination of upward movement of the fillingtube.

2. In a machine for forming, filling and closing cartons, a cartonfilling apparatus comprising means for supporting a carton in positionto be filled, means for measuring and storing a predetermined quantityof liquid, a control valve for controlling the discharge of liquid fromsaid storing means, a filling tube for receiving the measured quantityof liquid from said storing means, a foot valve at the lower end of saidfilling tube for maintaining a column of liquid therein, means forreciprocating said filling tube into and out of said carton, firstcontrol means responsive to the movement of said filling tube into thecarton for shifting said control valve and for subsequently opening saidfoot valve immediately before said filling tube reaches its lowermostposition in said carton, and second control means for raising saidfilling tube to displace a measured quantity of liquid into the cartononly after the level of liquid has first entered the carton to a 12depth above that of the lower end of said filling tube and for retainingthe lower end of said filling tube below said liquid level during thefilling operation.

3. A carton filling apparatus according to claim 2 and additionallycomprising an over-center lock connected to said foot valve for movingsaid foot valve between an open and a closed position and for holdingsaid foot valve in the adjusted position, means operatively connected tosaid over-center lock for opening said foot valve after said controlvalve has been shifted and prior to the termination of downward movementof said filling tube, and means operatively connected to said overcenterlock and responsive to the upward movement of the filling tube forclosing said foot valve prior to the termination of upward movement ofthe filling tube.

4. A carton filling apparatus according to claim 3 and additionallyincludinga ratchet secured to said control valve, an arm journalled onsaid control valve, a ratchet pawl pivotally connected to said arm, andmeans disposed in position to engage said arm upon downward movement ofsaid filling tube causing said pawl to engage said ratchet and shiftsaid control valve.

5. In a machine for forming, filling, and closing cartons which machineincludes an intermittently driven conveyor for advancing cartons along apredetermined path and indexing the cartons one ata time at the fillingstation, the combination of means for supportings in upright position acarton having an open upper end, means for measuring a predeterminedquantity of liquid, a filling tube connected to said measuring means anddisposed above and in axial alignment with a carton to be filled, acontrol valve disposed between said measuring means and said fillingtube, a ratchet secured to said control valve, an arm journalled on saidcontrol valve, a ratchet pawl pivotally connected to said arm andarranged to engage said ratchet and shift said pawl upon upward movementof said arm, a foot valve for closing the lower end of said fillingtube, an over-center lock connected to said foot valve for moving saidfoot valve between an open and a closed position and for holding saidfoot valve in an adjusted position, means for rapidly lowering thefilling tube into the carton and thereafter for slowly raising said tubeout of the carton, a first solenoid, first valve actuating means carriedby said solenoid and normally held in position to be engaged by said armto shift said control valve upon downward movement of said filling tube,a second solenoid, second valve actuating means carried by said secondsolenoid and normally held in position to be engaged by said over-centerlock to open said foot valve after said control valve has been shiftedand prior to the termination of downward movement of said filling tubeto permit a measured quantity of liquid to flow into the carton as thefilling tube is moved upwardly, said lower end of said filling tubebeing disposed below the liquid level of the carton during the fillingop 'eration, and a no-carton no-fill device operatively connected tosaid solenoid and responsive to the absence of' References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,155,009 9/1915 Schlangen 141279 X 2,208,028 7/ 1940Harrington l41-'-248 X 2,536,299 l/ll Martin 141--248 2,839,094 6/1958Reno 141l40 X LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. S. BELL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CARTON FILLING APPARATUS FOR FILLING A CARTON WITH LIQUIDCOMPRISING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING IN UPRIGHT POSITION A CARTON HAVING ANOPEN UPPER END, MEANS FOR MEASURING A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF LIQUID,A FILLING TUBE CONNECTED TO SAID MEASURING MEANS AND DISPOSED ABOVE ANDIN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE CARTON TO BE FILLED, A CONTROL VALVEDISPOSED BETWEEN SAID MEASURING MEANS AND SAID FILLING TUBE, A FOOTVALVE FOR CLOSING THE LOWER END OF SAID FILLING TUBE, MEANS FOR RAPIDLYLOWER THE FILLING TUBE INTO THE CARTON AND THEREAFTER FOR SLOWLY RAISINGSAID TUBE OUT OF THE CARTON, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENTOF THE FILLING TUBE FOR SHIFTING SAID CONTROL VALVE, MEANS OPERATIVELYCONNECTED TO SAID FOOT VALVE FOR OPENING SAID FOOT VALVE AFTER SAIDCONTROL VALVE HAS BEEN SHIFTED AND PRIOR TO THE TERMINATION OF DOWNWARDMOVEMENT OF SAID FILLING TUBE TO PERMIT THE MEASURED QUANITTY OF LIQUIDTO FLOW INTO THE CARTON AS THE FILLING TUBE IS MOVED UPWARDLY, AND MEANSOPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID FOOT VALVE AND RESPONSIVE TO THE UPWARDMOVEMENT OF THE FILLING TUBE FOR CLOSING SAID FOOT VALVE PRIOR TO THETERMINATION OF UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE FILLING TUBE.